Brian J. McCarthy, 55

Corporate, mergers and acquisitions

The past year was not much different from previous years for top corporate dealmaker McCarthy, despite the downturn in the economy. The busy attorney orchestrated the $2.8 billion sale of Santa Ana-based Advanced Medical Optics Inc., a LASIK surgical devices manufacturer and producer of optical devices, to Abbott Laboratories in the biggest medical devices transaction of the year. He also had his hands in the restructuring of Orange County's Quiksilver Inc., which he advised in the refinancing of the surf-gear giant's debts in Europe and the United States.